Sociology Department Staff

Karen Ingala-smith

Biography

Since 2009, I have been Chief Executive of nia, an East London based charity providing services for women, girls and children who have experienced sexual and domestic violence. Under my leadership, nia has maintained an undaunted feminist commitment to ending male violence. During an unfavourable economic climate, I have built upon nia’s reputation for innovative and creative ways of responding to the needs of the women and children it serves to become a highly regarded organisation championing an integrated approach to addressing all forms of male violence. nia’s services include East London Rape Crisis; The Emma Project –a unique refuge for women who have experienced domestic and sexual violence; Daria House – a refuge for women who have been sexually exploited with a focus on supporting women who been exploited through their involvement in prostitution; the London Exiting and Advocacy Project supporting women to exit prostitution; and the recently launched Huggett Women’s Centre.

I have been recording and commemorating UK women killed by men since January 2012 in a campaign called Counting Dead Women. I am co-creator of The Femicide Census with Women’s Aid (England), supported by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Deloitte LLP. The census is a ground breaking project enabling the monitoring and analysis of men’s fatal male violence against women, providing valuable data with the aim of contributing to the reduction of the number of women killed by men. The Femicide Census launched our first report: Redefining an Isolated Incident in December 2016.

With over 26 years’ experience in the women’s sector which encompasses frontline delivery, and operational and strategic management, I am a respected voice on feminist-informed service provision. I’m a trustee of the Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize and was awarded the Positive Role Model for Gender at the 2014 National Diversity Awards.

My PhD builds upon my work with Counting Dead Women and The Femicide Census and is informed by my professional experience

I’m a proudly working-class feminist and can be found on twitter at @K_IngalaSmith and @CountDeadWomen. I blog (less frequently since starting my PhD) at kareningalasmith.com specialising in feminist responses to men’s violence against women.